Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-03-09

0enC To-Day ana suggested TO MIN Gn6t N
sign the bill now unless he objected to it,
provisions. The President informed hin
that he could not do so, as he was fully
convinced that his constitutional power tt
sign or veto acts of Congress expired will
the adjournment of that body. Attorney
General Garland agreed entirely with tn,
President on this question.
RAILWAY ACCIDENT.
Tho Texas Express ON the Iron Mountain
Coos Through . Trestle.
ST. LOUIS, March 7.-There was railway
accident on the Iron Mountain Railroad
near DeSoto, Missouri. While not being al
all unusual in regard to fatal casualties, il
proves to have been quite remarkable in
respect to several circumstances which at.
tended it. 1t occurred at Victoria, sc
miles south of here, a little after 10 clock,
and was occasioned by the giving way
under the train of treetle which crossed
Joachim Creek at that point. The train
was the Texas Express and consisted OF
baggage, express and mail cars,
and four sleepers carrying about
/ PooSA6SAos
day and the creek was much swollen. At
Hematite, the first station this side of the
trestle, the engineer received orders to run
| cautiously, as rain had beenheavy and the
| creek was out of it's banks. Engineer Kelly
says he ran slowly beyond that point and
both be and his fireman, VIM. Hach,
watched the track very carefully. As he
approached the trestle, Kelly observed
that the track was entirely straight and
level, showing nothing wrong, and he went
on without the slightest fear or hesitation,
but when his engine reached about the
middle OF the trestle, he felt the whole
structure sinking beneath him. In an in
stant he opened the valve operating the
air brakes to the full width and brought
tho train to SO quick a stop that the front
end OF one OF the cars was crushed by the
sudden shock. This saved the coaches. but
baggage, mail, express and smoking cars
went into the ragi..g torrent below, carry
ing with them all the men on board Eugi-
neer Kelly and Fireman Hach went down
with the engine, and were submerged in the
food. Kelly, in his struggles to free him.
self, found that one of his feet was held
fast, but, at the same instant, and just as
he realized that he must drown, the engine
turned over, bis foot was released and he
came to surface. Selling a passing log he
clung to it despera te'y, and was swept
down by the torrent and lodged against a
tree, $50 yards below. With scarcely
strength enough to move he clasped his
legs and arms around the limb of a tree,
became unconscious, and was not restored
until two or three hours after he had
been taken from the tree. when he found
himself kindly cared for in a house in Vic
toria. His face and head were
severity cut, two OF his toes were torn
L. l.
bruised in various parts of his body. He
about 500 yards down the stream, lodged
in a mass of brush and drift and was res.
cued after the flood had subsided. The
postal car was swept away some distance,
and as the water rushed through it from
end to end. the mail was literally washed
out and it is now scattered over miles of
territory, or imbedded in mud Of the
creek. It 10 regarded as almost total
loss, the whole Of it being completely
soaked and addresses of letters obliterated.
Postal Clerks Mccullough, shaffer and
drowned, and being stripped for
work, they lost all their clothes,
their gold watches and about $3.50 in
money, which was carried away by the |
food, The smoker. which is said to have
contained some twenty persons, was swept |
down about 300 yards below the trestle, |
and all of it's occupants are believed to |
have been saved. They succeeded in get
ting outside of the car, and clung to it's top |
until they were rescued. There are some |
doubts about the baggage and express mes |
senger being safe, but a late dispatch from |
the wreck says that no train men were
lost.
A full list of casualties cannot be OBJ !
tanned, but aside from Henry Bryon, of
New York, who was found |
drowned in the smoker, and Byrnes, a
brakeman. who had a foot dislocated, no |
others than those mentioned were any
ways seriously injured. Nearly one
half OF those in the smoker
lost most of their clothes,
sons either getting out of the car or by |
the rushing water through which they were |
dragged ashore by ropes.
A farmer named Andrew White. of Bal |
ley's Station, did heroic work in saving |
he having swan several times |
to the smoker, and each time returned |
with one of the unfortunates who were |
clinging to the roof of the car. Several |
of the passengers in the sleepers also aided |
materially in the work and Conductor Guion |
and all OF the train crew labored like Tro- |
jams in rescuing those on the cars. The |
mail is said to have been the largest ever
sent over the road and losses will fall |
heavily on this city, where about three |
quarters of the matter originated. An ex-
press package without address or any
thing on it by which it can be identified |
contain :ng $37 600 was 'ound to day and |
it is not unlikely that others will be dis |
covered in the creek or in the woods.